Champs! Scholars’ Varsity Soccer Lady Seawolves Clinch City Championship

By Kami-Leigh Agard

On Saturday, November 9, at Randall’s Island, Scholars’ Academy Lady Seawolves varsity soccer team triumphantly hoisted their championship trophy after defeating Manhattan’s Nest+M (New Explorations Into Science, Tech and Math High School) in the girls’ soccer Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) 1A Division championship. It was a fierce matchup between the top two seeds, and going into the game with a 26-0 record under Coach Dmitry Vlasov, the Lady Seawolves were positioned to pounce with a near flawless game, defeating NEST+M for the title, 3-0. It was the Lady Seawolves’ first time clinching the city’s soccer championship, and according to Vlasov, the girls worked hard all season for their fairy tale ending.

As the final game began and the referee’s whistle was heard, Scholars’ was able to maintain a heavy amount of possession early on, and within the first 10 minutes of the game, that possession would lead to a goal by Alice Murphy, who opened up the scoring with a low shot into the corner for a 1-0 lead. Nest+M almost immediately responded with a goal of their own, but they were thwarted by goalkeeper Natasha Vega, who made a superb save to kick them out. Co-captains Jenna Mikell and Maddie Theis conducted play in the middle with superb passing and aggressive tackling. Natalia O’Brien made runs, dribbling, battling opposing defenders, and pushing the attack forward. Scholars’ were fouled outside the penalty area, and Theis stepped up to take the free kick, blasting the ball in the back of the net to make the score 2-0. Scholars’ won another free kick, and Theis scored. Even with a 3-0 lead, the Seawolves’ forwards kept attacking like they were down until the whistle blew for the end of the second half, and the Seawolves were declared the champions.

When asked what propelled the Lady Seawolves to win this year’s championship, Vlasov, who teaches U.S. history at Scholars’ and has coached the girls’ soccer team for the last three years, boiled it down to hard work and discipline.

“I think it was a combination of their hard work, and also the fact that Rockaway and its surrounding areas are very competitive and sports-friendly with, for examples, the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) and FC COPA, for children growing up here, and that translates into the community producing great athletes. Also, the girls are disciplined on the field in terms of how they approach the game. We have a great disciplinary record. We don’t have any yellow or red cards. They don’t argue with the referees, and they have a good team cohesion, in which they each understand the task in front of them, and work well together. Everyone knows their role, knows their teammates’ roles, and overall, understand the task of winning a game,” he said.

He added, “This championship game had quite the fairy tale ending for one of our seniors, Caitlyn Durante. For the final game, one of our starting central defenders already had a prearranged fencing competition in Tennessee. So, we were faced with a very difficult situation, and I thought to myself, ‘How are we going to adapt?’ So, I took my right back and moved her to the middle of defense, and then I talked to Caitlyn outside of class, and informed her that instead of coming in off the bench to help us out, she’s going to have a starting role as right back. Caitlyn is a very hardworking player. She’s always been very consistent and is a fantastic person overall. This was a really big opportunity for her to start at right back in the final, and she did a phenomenal job. She absolutely crushed it!”

Unbeaten in divisional play over the last three years, this season, the Lady Seawolves dominated the PSAL Queens 1A Division with a 10-0 record, propelling them to the playoffs as the #2 seed. Scholars’ beat the top schools from Manhattan on their way to the championship game, where they faced #1 seed, NEST+M, who also held an undefeated 10-0 record this season. However, with both teams rolling into the championship undefeated, someone had to go, and Scholars’ made sure it was NEST+M.

Players on this season’s roster were freshman: Sophia Zabava; sophomores: Maddie Theis (co-captain), Natalia O’Brien, Alice Murphy, Zabella Clerigo, Victoria Kelly; juniors: Jenna Mikell (co-captain), Sarah Gilmartin, Rea Mills, Kailtyn Palmese, Liat Smotritsky, Grace Wagner, Natasha Vega; and seniors: Caitlyn Durante, Tamia Green, Megyn Hartman, Cherish Jones, Tsion Kebede, Melanie Lituma, Leanne Lowe, Arielle Marcial, Ava Monahan, Chloe Ward; and team manager: Kandia Petrie.

Vlasov said the girls were tested all season, readying them for the ultimate face-off with NEST+M.

“Our games against High School for Arts and Business were indicative of how the girls had to be organized and play well. Baccalaureate School for Global Education was our divisional rival and gave us a very good game that showed the team what it takes to beat a great opponent. And then in the playoffs, Manhattan’s Institute For Collaborative Education gave us a very thorough challenge. Plus obviously, our championship opponent, NEST+M, gave us a strong challenge,” he said.

Seawolves’ co-captain Mikell, a junior at Scholars’, said that going into the championship game, she was confident that they would finish victorious. “I honestly thought that we were going to win the championship this season. We were winning all season. Next season is going to be even better because we do have a pretty young starting lineup. Plus, we have some incoming freshmen that should be good additions to our team. I think our needs are more on the defensive side. We don’t focus on one player to score all of our goals. We’re all very good in the attack.”

Theis, a sophomore and also a Seawolves co-captain with Mikell, shared that she’s been playing soccer since her elementary school days with CYO, and now playing for Scholars’ has taught her many life lessons.

“Playing soccer teaches you how to work with people, control your emotions and perseverance. We have a really great program with Coach V. Anytime there was a problem on the field, we worked together to fix it. We had great communication,” she said.

Mikell agreed. “Playing soccer definitely helps you learn how to work with and not get angry at other people. You really learn how to control your emotions. It also teaches you that if you have a passion for something, once you set goals and work hard, it can be achieved. I’m just really proud of the team that I’ve gotten to be a part of for the past three years. We’ve grown a lot and still have more to work on, but I think that we’ve definitely improved a lot from last year and communicated much better with each other. The overall passion of the team is what also led us to victory,” she said.

As for playing soccer on the collegiate levels, Vlasov said that he sees that as the next chapter for many of the Seawolves players. “Many of our players are definitely positioned to play soccer on the college level. I’m just so proud of the season they played. We won!” he said.